


Hook, Line & Sinker

by walkydeads



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Assumptions, Catfishing, Demisexuality, F/M, Gay Josh, M/M, PDA, Pretending to be someone else, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Trapped in the Closet, demisexual chris, posing as the opposite sex online
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 02:05:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5029507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkydeads/pseuds/walkydeads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote a thing while marathoning Catfish: The TV Show (but don’t worry, this isn’t crossover fic and Nev and Max DO NOT make an appearance, i just thought the concept would translate over nicely). </p>
<p>Josh accidentally catfishes Chris, and keeps the charade going for an absurd amount of time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hook, Line & Sinker

Josh catfishes Chris.

Not exactly on purpose, and not maliciously, but he still does it, and he gets in way too deep without really meaning to.

Emily had asked him to help her create a fake tinder account to see if Mike was cheating on her an ungodly amount of time ago. He was and it was ridiculous and they had broken up for a month or so before getting back together, but for whatever reason, Josh hadn’t taken the account down. He wasn’t sure why he was the one Emily ended up asking over Hannah, Beth, and well… pretty much everyone else. Maybe it was because of all the guys, he liked Mike the least and had the least to lose if he found out.

They had picked a girl they’d gone to high school with, who was off at Sarah Lawrence studying creative writing. Assuming she’d been seen around town enough before she left, they figured she’d seem more real, especially since some of the pictures they pulled from facebook had a local landscape in the background.

She was honestly very pretty in a very down to earth way. Josh thought he had art with her his sophomore year or something, he remembered her quirky sense of fashion and how shiny her red hair had been. He could definitely see how people would be drawn to her, but for whatever reason he’d never bothered.

Truthfully, he liked the attention the girl he’d chosen got, mostly from men. He knew it was a little creepy and dishonest, but he had jerked off more than once to the freaky conversations he had with random guys while pretending to be her. He wasn’t exactly in the closet, but he wasn’t exactly out and proud, so being lavished with male sexual attention wasn’t something he was used to and he ate it up, even if it was under false pretenses.

He wasn’t really surprised when he found Chris on there. His pictures were nice, which was strange because Josh didn’t think he’d have the confidence to post shirtless pictures, or even make a Tinder account, for that matter. He swipes right anyway, unsurprised when Chris likes ‘Ashley’ back, or even when Chris strikes up a conversation.

It stays within safe territory for a while, probably about a month. Josh can’t really explain why he doesn’t just come clean, but it’s probably just because nothing serious has happened and Josh just doesn’t think it’s a big deal. For all intents and purposes, it seems like all Chris is looking for is a friendship. Chris talks to Ashley like he talks to Josh. Like a human being, who he’s interested in getting to know. Josh probably could have told him the truth and it would have been fine. They probably would have laughed it off and moved on with their lives. Yet, for some reason, he never did.

But the thing was, Chris was finally talking to Josh the way Josh had always wanted him to, under the pretense that it would lead up to something more, flirting and sending heart and kissy face emojis. It wasn’t much of a departure from their friendship, but Josh felt the freedom to be open about his feelings for his friend that he never had before. Josh loved the attention and affection and he couldn’t bring himself to call it off or tell the truth, even as it veered towards the romantic.

Chris didn’t tell Josh about Ashley whenever they hung out in person, but there was a new spring in his step and he smiled more. When Josh called him out on it, he blushed and it was adorable, but he still didn’t divulge any further information. It would have been kind of hurtful if Josh hadn’t already known exactly what was going on.

Not too long after that, though, things took a turn for the sexual. What had been an offhanded comment about a selfie Chris had shared turned into heavy flirting, which then progressed into sexting (and it was probably the best attempt at it Josh had ever seen if he were being honest), and Josh coming over the thought of being on his knees with Chris’ dick in his mouth. The mental image apparently did it for Chris too, even though he was picturing Ashley on her knees instead.

The odd thing was, Chris didn’t really mention Ashley’s genitals. Lots of guys would talk about ‘fucking that pussy’ or 'licking that cunt,’ in Josh’s experience (and to his horror slash amusement), but Chris would use flowery, non-descriptive language that still more than got the job done. Was that respect or was it bashfulness? Josh knew for a fact that Chris was still a virgin, so maybe he was being delicate and vague in case he got the details wrong.

He also didn’t send dick pics, which was weird because Josh had assumed that it was standard behavior, and also because he knew that Chris didn’t have anything to be ashamed of. And he didn’t ask Ashley for dirty pictures, which was refreshing and made Josh’s life a whole lot easier.

For weeks, Josh carries on with this. Sometimes they talk for days without sexting, sometimes they do nothing else. But of course, Josh fucks it up eventually. He mentions something that - given how many conversations Chris and Ashley have had - he’s sure Chris has told her before, but Chris is rather insistent that he didn’t. And Josh finds, after scrolling back through their conversations, that Chris is right.

There’s an argument, and while lost in the details and looking for a solid explanation, Josh admits as Ashley that he’s friends with some of Chris’ friends. It’s the closest he feels like he can get to the truth.

A few days of awkward and stilted conversation later, Chris comes to Ashley with a question.

He wants to know if Ashley is down to meet.

And Josh knows he has to go, has to put an end to this. Chris is his best friend, and this charade has gone on too long. For all he knows, he’s done irreparable damage to his friendship. But deep down, he was so happy to finally have what he wanted so long that the thought of letting it go was tearing him apart. 

They arrange to meet at the mall. Josh knows exactly where Chris wants to meet, because it’s where all of their friends meet whenever they get together. He makes sure Ashley asks for specific instructions.

Chris is waiting when Josh arrives at the mall. Josh’s hands are shaking as he walks up, and it takes a moment for Chris to recognize him in the crowd. Immediately, Josh knows something’s up. Chris doesn’t look as happy as he might have if they had just bumped into one another. And as Josh approaches, his face hardens into an angry, hurt expression.

“Hey,” Josh says.

He’s met with silence.

“I, uh,” he clears his throat, shuffles his feet, “I have something to tell you, I guess. It looks like you already know.”

“I’ve known for a while now,” Chris says, crossing his arms, “Ashley and I already know each other. We had English together two years in a row. Kept in touch when she moved. I thought that might have been her tinder until I saw you were trying to act like she was still in town. What I don’t understand is why you did it. I thought… I thought we were best friends, Josh.”

“We are,” Josh says firmly, “I hope we still can be after this. I wasn’t making fun of you or trying to prank you or anything. Emily and I made that tinder account like six months ago to find out if Mike was cheating on her or not.”

“So that’s why they broke up so suddenly,” Chris says thoughtfully. “But why keep updating the profile?”

They’re walking around the mall, talking lowly instead of standing in one place to let the argument draw attention. Josh tries to take that as a good sign. “It was… it was nice to be someone else, I guess?”

“But you would have been primarily talking to guys, right? Was that something you were interested in?” Chris asks. It doesn’t sound like he’s being hateful or judgmental, just simply curious. That’s probably the only reason Josh feels comfortable telling him the truth.

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

As they take another lap around the mall, silence falls between them. Josh’s heart is about to pound out of his chest, wondering if Chris will get uncomfortable and want to walk away from him for good.

Chris sighs, “Well. Now that you say that, there have been a lot of clues, looking back. I don’t mind at all, you know? It makes sense. You were scared to come out, so you posed as a girl to get the attention you wanted. But why me, then? You could have just told me the truth instead of keeping up the act. I’m not your best friend for no reason, you know.”

“Before I answer that, I have a question,” Josh says cautiously, “If you knew that whoever you were talking to wasn’t Ashley, why did you let it go as far as it did instead of calling me out on it?”

They stop walking, Chris sitting on a nearby bench and Josh following suit after a moment of hesitation. “It’s like,” he sighs, “It’s like, I guess I was just hoping there was still a connection? I went into it hoping me and Ashley could share a good laugh, but I ended up really getting along with the person I was talking to. When I realized it wasn’t her, I took her appearance out of the equation and just… enjoyed the interaction. I didn’t know if I was talking to a boy or a girl or someone somewhere in between, so. When things got sexual, it felt like a natural progression.”

“So that’s why you didn’t get too graphic,” Josh says thoughtfully, “You didn’t know who was on the other end of the line, but you still…”

Chris swallows heavily, “Yeah,” he says, “I still wanted them.”

“Do you still?” Josh asks, and though he says it lightly, it’s easily the toughest question in this whole conversation.

“I guess that depends,” Chris says, “On whether or not any of that was real to you.”

And, having the ball firmly in his court, Josh thinks of the right way to tell Chris that it was the realest thing he’s felt in a very long time, and figures there’s really only one way to do it. He leans over and presses his lips to Chris’ in the middle of the mall. It’s a very brief peck, but it’s in front of everyone and it’s real.

“Does that answer your question?”

Chris smiles at him, “Yeah, it does. And I’m really happy with the answer, don’t get me wrong. But I guess I just need time to adjust. It makes total sense that you were the one at the end of the day. But you’ve also been my best friend for the past decade, and I guess I kinda need a minute to readjust my perception of you.”

“I had to do that a couple years ago, when I realized,” Josh says, “So I totally get it, man. Take your time.”

They part ways, and for the next few weeks, not a whole lot changes. Josh deletes the Ashley account and still hangs out with his friends. He and Chris are really only spared from awkwardness by hanging out with everyone else, but Chris is a lot more tactile than he used to be. There are even a few instances of hand holding or cuddling that, given their closeness before, don’t really register with the rest of the group.

When they want to talk now, Chris just texts Josh. Things have even gotten flirty and sexual a few times, but they’re integrating that part of things to their relationship very slowly. Josh is always a little taken aback by how unbothered Chris was at the revelation that his best friend (and a boy!) had the hots for him, but Chris just shrugged and said he was more concerned by how he connected with people than what was in between their legs.

Eventually, they’re comfortable enough that they can hang out one-on-one again. Sometimes, it’s just like it used to be. Sometimes they make out a little. It’s become increasingly difficult for Josh to not be all over him, but he restrains himself out of respect for Chris’ feelings and needs.

One day, as they’re hanging out, Chris says, “I um. I’m not trying to be indelicate or anything, so feel free to shut me down if I am, but. Remember when we got all sexy the first time when you were posing as Ashley? Why… um. Why haven’t we done anything like that yet?”

Josh grins at him, “I was just waiting for you to tell me you were ready.”

“Oh,” Chris says, blushing, “Well, I absolutely am.”

Several hours and defiled surfaces in Chris’ home later, they pour into his bed, exhausted and sated, the reality being every bit as good as they had talked about it being.

That summer, Emily has a party at her family’s lake house. Chris and Josh -who at this point have fully integrated their relationship into the group dynamic - are sitting on the dock, kicking their legs, dragging their toes against the surface of the water, and being all ‘kissy kissy’ as Jess teasingly calls it, when Emily approaches them, a girl in a bikini top and board shorts trailing behind her.

“Guys,” she says, barely concealing her amusement, “I’d like to reintroduce you to Ashley.”


End file.
